For the Future
by It'sNiceToHaveMetYou
Summary: 'What's the point,' she thought, looking to the moon. She was searching for something in the moon, solace maybe. The moon stared back, she wished she could tell the girl that everything was going to be okay. But she couldn't; green eyes stared into the night sky. The moon wished to give her a sign, if anything else, that it was going to be fine. The girl rolled and went to sleep.
1. Chapter 1: How In the World

The pink haired 20 year old glared sleepily at her alarm clock, the numbers hadn't yet made themselves into something other than jumbled lines. 8:15, the numbers read. realizing this, the girl jumped out of bed, shouting curses and other obscenities towards the alarm clock. She pulled on jeans and grabbed a random shirt tshirt from her dresser. To her luck, it was the red v-neck that she'd been searching ages for. Still running, she brushed her teeth and brushed her hair. After she washed her face, she quickly pulled on a pair of plain flats. She didn't have time to be picky so she grabbed and apple and her messanger purse. She slowed to lock the door and close it behind her as she ran to her job.

Even if it was just a job at the local hospital, that was fine with her. She babysat sometimes to bring in extra money, but Sakura didn't usually need a lot of money to survive. The job at the hospital meant a lot to her though, she liked helping people. Her boss, Tsunade, was the main doctor there and she adored Sakura like she was her own daughter. So when the pink haired girl rushed through the door, right on time, all she did was smile.

While in the process of finishing her apple, Sakura rushed to the employee's room to put her stuff away. She tossed the apple in the trash can with great accuracy and went to get her coat on. Within minutes, she snapped the lock shut and rushed out to start her rounds for the day. First, she was needed in the children's part of the hospital. She wrapped a couple of wounds, set a couple bones back and made them casts. After she finished there, it was getting close to noon, but she was needed in the labs. That's where her job usually took place any other time. She was a technician, but she also worked on medicines and antidotes for various poisons that were becoming common in some of the patients that were brought in.

Something in her pocket vibrated, not before startling Sakura. She was glad that she wasn't working on anything when it rang because that would have ended horribly. She held the phone to her ear.

"What do you want," she snapped softly into the phone.

"I just wanted to know what you wanted for lunch Sakura-chan," Naruto answered happily.

Sakura brightened, "Can you bring me some miso ramen?"

The boy on the other end nodded, but quickly realized that she couldn't see him and replied with a simple, "Yes."

Inner Sakura cheered, "Tell Hinata that I said hello."

Naruto blushed, "I-I will. Bye Sakura-chan."

Sakura giggled as her blonde friend hung up. She could practically heard the blush in his voice. With the reward of food hanging in the air, Sakura quickly came up with a antidote for a poison that was giving her a little bit of trouble. The pink haired girl put it into a box, after she labeled the poison and antidote correctly, and went to give it to Tsunade. Sakura hurried down the hallway and towards the stairs. Without missing a beat, Sakura raced up the stairs, careful not to juggled to box around too much. She didn't pay attention to Ino, her coworker, kissing someone besides her fiancee. She didn't care either way. After a few minutes, she knocked lightly on Tsunade's door.

"Tsunade-sama, I have the antidote for that poison that you gave me."

There was a mumbled reply and Sakura walked in, a bright smile plastered on her face. Her boss looked up from the paperwork that she was doing. Sakura gently handed her the box and turned to walk out.

"Sakura, you may leave early if you wish. Today's been a slow day, plus, we don't have anymore poisons for you to decode for us," her boss said, "If we need you, we'll call you, okay?"

Sakura nodded with a huge smile.

"Go on, get outta here, you probably need to buy a new alarm clock," she said with a knowing smile.

Blush coated Sakura's cheeks. She really did have to go buy a new alarm clock. With that she waved happily to her boss and walked to the employee's room. She put her lab coat away and slipped her phone into her bag. The pink haired girl locked it back up and made her way out of the hospital. It was no surprise that she was walking out as Naruto walked in.

"Sakura-chan," he called, "I thought you were working today."

She shook her head, it was three o'clock. Normally she would have gotten off around nine, after Naruto brought her dinner, "There seemed to be a change in plans today."

He nodded and handed her her ramen, "This is for you. By the way, Hinata said hi."

Inner cheered,** Finally, they're going to get together.**

Outer Sakura smiled, "Well, you should get back to her. I'm going to go home and sleep."

A quick hug and a small wave later, the two friends parted. Sakura did go home, or she tried to. The pink haired girl was walking by and noticed something. It looked like a little gray ball. As she neared it she saw that it was a kitten. It didn't look hurt, nor was anything bleeding, but Sakura didn't take any chances. She gently picked the kitten up and held it her her as she walked home. By the time that she got home, the kitten had climbed into her bag and it seemed like it was comfortable there so she didn't bother it. She reached in her purse and got out her house key and unlocked the door. Sakura walked to the kitchen and set the food on the counter before retreating to her room. The pink haired girl gently pulled the kitten out of her bag and sat it on her bed. With half opened eyes the kitten looked at her lazily before yawning and balling up to sleep. Green eyes stared at the little thing in wonder.

_I wish I could be a cat_, she thought. Inner agreed. Sakura grabbed a piece of paper and a Sharpie and walked back to the kitchen. As she ate her ramen, she wrote on the paper.

_Little gray kitten found. It's light gray with darker stripes. It's not mine but I found it on my way home from work. Please come claim it._ With that she wrote her phone number. By now, all her ramen was gone and the kitten was still asleep on her bed. She walked back to the room with the paper to get her bag. The kitten, now aware of the girl, stood up and stretched. It took advantage of her lowered position to put shoes on and climbed up on her shoulder. It gave a soft mew, it's golden eyes staring into Sakura's turned green ones. The pink haired girl pulled the kitten into her lap, she scratched it behind its ears. The kitten purred loudly and crawled into Sakura's bag, only to stick it's head out to mew.

Much to her amusement, the cat could understand what she was saying and would reply with a series of mews. The cat was perched on the pink girl's shoulders and was purring. Sakura, lost in her train of though, was walking. The pair were hanging up LOST posters for the kitten. The kitten and Sakura were walking towards Sakura's apartment when someone tapped Sakura on the shoulder. It was getting late, so with green eyes widened, she turned.

**Damn.** Inner thought, Th**ey're fine, with a capital F. In every sense of the word-**

Sakura tuned her inner, more perverted self, out and took a step back to observe the person, or rather, people. Green eyes stared into those of five grown men.

"Uh," the girl started, "May I help you?"

"Yes," on of the guys with white hair said, "Could you tell us where to find a pretty girl like yourself?"

Sakura laughed, taking the men by surprise. She picked up the tape and the papers and started to walk away.

"Sorry, I'm one of a kind," she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

She left the five guys standing there, more or less, confused. Sakura stuffed the tape and paper in her bag and continued walking towards the store. The pink haired girl walked to the aisle for clocks and got a new one because she couldn't keep rushing around in the morning. _While I'm here,_ she thought, _I might as well get some food for my little buddy and I._ Swiftly, she walked to the back of the store and grabbed some instant ramen. Naruto was really starting to rub off on her. Sakura walked to the check out counter, eager to get home. The cashier rang her stuff up, Sakura paid. After Sakura was handed her bag and she was ready to leave did she hear the soft mew of a kitten. She turned and saw the little kitten scrambling towards her with a little pink collar in its mouth. This kitten really was something. She picked the little kitten up and took the collar back to the cashier, who smiled.

"Maybe some other time," Sakura said.

The cat gave its usual response and retook its perch on Sakura's shoulder. The pink haired girl and gray cat walked back to Sakura's apartment to enjoy instant ramen and a quiet night. Or so the duo thought. It seems fated that the girl would meet the five men again, and as she was walking up to her apartment.

"Yo Pinky," a different voice called.

Sakura unlocked her door and turned, "Hm?"

"Oh, it seriously does look like she's going to be our neighbor," the blonde one said, "Don't worry Pinky, we don't bite- Whatcha got there?"

She looked to the bag confused and back to the boys. Sakura was confused, then she realized that the blonde guy was talking about the kitten sitting dutifully at her feet.

"Oh, yeah, that's my kitten," the pinkette said dismissively.

The kitten hissed at them and meowed like it was trying to roar. Sakura set the bags inside the door and grabbed the kitten.

"Come on, you little thing, we can't be kicked out cause you beat up our new neighbors," she said with a laugh.

Cue little cat smile. The boys looked at the pink haired girl, unsure of what to do. They were going to invite her to dinner, when she turned and walked into her apartment, shutting and locking the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2: Voodoo and a Gray Cat

The pink haired girl and, much to her amusement, the cat settled into a nice routine. The cat followed the pink haired girl everywhere. Not one person had yet to claim the little kitten, so Sakura took it upon herself to care for it. Now, sitting on the couch after a long day of work, the kitten curled onto Sakura's lap. There was a knock at the door, and the kitten ran to the door.

"Who is it," Sakura called from the living room.

"Your neighbors," one of them called.

Sakura sighed and picked up the kitten and deposited the little animal on her shoulder. The kitten roared at the boys standing at the door when Sakura opened it. They looked at the kitten, and smiled at the girl. The blue with the slight blueish skin tone, or Kisame, spoke first.

"We were just wondering, since you seem like a hermit, if you wanted to hang out with us."

Sakura pet the cat's fur.

"Yes, please Sakura-chan, Tobi has been a very good boy," one guy, who the pinkette had never met before, spoke. He wore a pair of sunglasses, bandages could be seen under them. _Maybe he's blind_, Sakura thought.

"Un," Deidara, the blonde one started, "Live a little."

She hated going out, she was so content with being lazy. Sakura thought about it.

"How about a movie," she said.

The boys looked at each other, and then back to Sakura.

"Here..." the white haired one, Hidan, asked.

"I don't see why not. As long as you don't mess up anything, I don't have a problem with it."

"Are you sure, un," Deidara asked.

Sakura though again, she did have to work an early shift tomorrow, but she got off around 5 instead of the normal 9. She shook her head.

"I forgot, I have to work a really early shift tomorrow, but one movie couldn't hurt," she added.

The pinkette let the eight guys into her house. The neighbors would think things, but most of them knew that Sakura wasn't like that, nor would she ever be. Seven guys stood in the little part of her apartment, waiting for her to lead the way. Out of these eight guys, only five of them were her neighbors and they all didn't live in the same house apartment either. If that was the case then she'd hate living here. Deidara was the one that was closest to her, he lived just next door. Kisame lived above the pinkette, she expected him to be a nuisance, but he wasn't. Sasori bounced back between the two, not that she minded unless he was staying with Deidara for long periods of time. Hidan and Kakuzu lived right across the hall. They, overall were good neighbors, they didn't bother her much, and when they did it was usually to settle an argument between two parties. Itachi, and Tobi were the other two. She knew them because she'd met them through her neighbors, except for Itachi. She knew the Uchiha through his younger brother before he moved away.

They followed Sakura to the living room where she sat with the cat. The group perched themselves in different places around the room. As suggested, they watched a movie. After the credits stopped, the cat hissed at the boys. The little animal was smarter than they gave it credit for. Sakura smiled and laughed at the cat, but not before taking it in her arms and cradling it like it was a baby. The pinkette disappeared and then reappeared, her hair tied in a bun.

"That was a good movie guys. I'll see you around," she said yawning.

Each boy yearned to stay longer because they each enjoyed the pink haired girl's company, except for Itachi. They each stood slowly and stretched their sleepy limbs before walking towards the door. After one more goodbye to the pinkette, they walked to their respective homes. Sakura closed and locked the door and she went through the house turing off things and making sure it was all locked. The pinkette was utterly exhausted. Hours at the hospital had picked up and more people were flooding in with illness and Sakura was there to sure them and send them home. Some people would tell her that it's just a job and she needs to get on with her life, find a boyfriend, and get married. To Sakura, it was more than that. It wasn't just a job, the hospital was her life. That was the only thing that kept her sane sometimes. She climbed into her bed and promptly fell asleep with the little gray kitten curled up at her side.

They say that good things never last, and Sakura would agree wholeheartedly to that statement. It was four in the morning and she had to get ready for her shift. Her shadow perked up, but then went back to sleep, not ready to start his day either. The pinkette grabbed clothes, underwear, jeans, and a long sleeve blue sweater, and walked to the bathroom. She stripped and then jumped into the scorching water as a defender from the cold air. Sakura's shower didn't last long, just long enough to get herself clean. After she dried off and got dressed, she made herself breakfast. Sakura relished in the fact that she was actually eating breakfast and that it wasn't just dream. After that, she brushed her teeth and then she slipped on her signature black flats and bag. The gray kitten, whose name was still unknown, hopped up on Sakura's shoulder and they headed to work; turning the lights off and locking the door as Sakura shut it behind them.

The weather outside was a little chilly and Sakura was grateful that the sweater was solid and a size or two bigger than her normal size. _I'm going to start having to wear a coat to work in the mornings_, she thought.

**You know how I hate the cold**_**, **_Inner thought, **Maybe if one of our hot neighbors were here-**

_Shut up,_ Outer Sakura commanded.

The inner version of herself smirked and stopped talking. The cat took this opportunity to jump down from his master's shoulders and growl at a figure in front of them. Deidara picked the kitten up and gave his to Sakura. Deidara was the only other person that the cat would let pick him up. Sakura smiled at her neighbor and waved as she resumed her walk to work. The blonde took this as an opportunity from Kami to get to know his pink haired neighbor. He caught up to her and the cat looked at him suspiciously. That cat reminded him of someone. He pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Sakura-chan, why are you up so early, I don't usually hear you scream you late until eightish," the blonde said playfully.

Sakura smiled, "I have an early shift at the hospital today."

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"Why are _you_ out so early Deidara-kun? I've heard you don't come out of the house until at least noon."

"I was craving ice cream," the blonde said simply.

"Oh," Sakura said shocked by her neighbor's response.

She noticed that her neighbor was wearing noting but a pair of shorts and a tshirt.

"Don't you know that it's cold outside, you could get sick," Sakura scolded.

Deidara smiled at his neighbor's scolding, the cat looked at him with golden, half opened eyes. He continued to walk with Sakura to work. At the gate she picked the kitten off her shoulder.

"You can't work with me today little guy," she said sadly to the two toned cat.

It mewed at her sadly, she turned to Deidara.

"Would you care to watch Tint for me," she asked the blonde.

He nodded and gently took the cat. Both, cat and human, watched the pinkette wave and walk inside. He knew this cat from somewhere, it looked just like his friend...

"OhmyKami, Zetsu, is that you," the blonde asked the cat as they walked back to the apartment.

The cat meowed and nodded his little head. Deidara couldn't take it anymore. He let out a laugh that made the kitten stop and look to the blonde. With pleading, golden eyes, the kitten was picked up again and the laughing stopped. The blonde, with the cat in his arms, walked back to his apartment. He sat the cat on the table and disappeared, only to reappear with paper and ink.

"Explain."

He set the ink in front of the cat with the paper. It was hard, but the cat finally finished writing as he pushed the paper away. Deidara wiped his paws off with a towel and the Zetsu cat shot him a look of thankfulness. The blonde then read the paper and set it down. He looked calm, but the next thing the cat knew, his friend was laughing. _Hysterical. _**We should eat him**, the cat thought. He lunged at the blonde and landed on his chest. The sudden movement scared Deidara and the chair fell back, the kitten landed on the blondes chest. Deidara was still laughing, and then the cat bit his nose. The blonde stopped laughing and detached the cat from his nose.

"I'm going to help you, don't worry, but why don't you want to be a cat. You freaking get pampered. Plus," he added, "Sakura is the one that pampers you."

The cat looked at his stupidly and got the paper again, and wrote.

_It's not that, Sakura is the greatest caregiver in the world, but I want her to meet the human me._

"I didn't say that she couldn't, but I would milk this for all it's worth, but if you want to be a human so bad, you have to elaborate more on what happened."

_Well, I was spying on this one lady. Now I know that she knew I was there, and the next thing I know Sakura picks me up and I'm a cat._

The blonde sighed, "So, was it voodoo, you're going to have to elaborate."

The cat instead nodded. Voodoo magic was tricky. Although they both knew little to nothing about it.

"Well, until I figure out what to do with you, you're going to have to stay a cat, un."

It wasn't long after that Kisame knocked on the door.

The blonde and cat got up to answer it, "Yes, Kisame."

"Could you tone down the laughter? I'm trying to sleep and why do you have Sakura's cat?"

"No, I cannot tone it down. And I'm catsitting today while Sakura-chan is at work. Oh and I have to tell you something funny."

"Tell me."

"Not now," he said looking at the cat, "Everyone has to be here."

The cat sent him hateful glares that didn't go unnoticed by the shark like boy.

"Why's the cat glaring at you?"

"No reason. Now, if you go get everyone up, I'll tell everyone at the same time."

Kisame turned with a evil grin, "I'll be right back."

True to his word, the boy returned with the rest of his friends that lived in the apartments. Deidara welcomed them in. They all perched in various spots in the blondes living room. It was quiet, except for the occasional string of curses that left Hidan's mouth. The blonde stood with the cat on his shoulder. Cat Zetsu looked grumpily at the other people.

"So, guys," Deidara spoke, "This cat is Zetsu."

There was a moment of silence before laughter filled the air. After calming them down and giving them proof, they looked at the cat with eyes full of loathing.

"How come you get to be Sakura-chan's cat," Hidan asked, "I'm much more qualified to be her cat."

The cat sighed, they were missing the point. So he wrote again.

_You idiots are missing the point. I am not fit to be a cat, so why am I still one?_

He then proceeded to bite each of them, as if getting their attention back on track. They each read it and sighed.

"I'm sure Pein will no something about getting you back to you regular self," the offered.

The cat nodded and jumped on the shark boy's shoulder. They walked to Pein and Konan's apartment across town. It was cold and the little cat Zetsu couldn't keep warm. He shivered on Kisame's shoulder until Hidan grabbed him and put him in pocket of his hoodie. Inwardly, the cat thanked him. Deidara couldn't keep the smile off his face.

_How could you_, he thought, _the one person that was the carefullest of everyone was a cat._ And that sent the blonde into another frenzy of giggles.


	3. Chapter 3: Stuttering is a Given

Pein was a simple, level headed man, most of the time. He liked to joke around. The man had seen a lot in his life, but seeing one of his friends as a cat just had to be a joke.

"How is one supposed to act in this situation," he asked Konan who replied with a shrug.

"Maybe it's something out of _The Princess and the Frog_," she offered.

They thought, but the cat had written out that Sakura gave him kisses on the nose and fur all the time. After that, they kind of gave up.

"Are we going to tell Sakura-chan," Kisame asked, picking up the little cat.

The cat, finding no comfort in these people, jumped down. Zetsu didn't mind being a cat, but being a human was better. He meowed at his friends in front of him. Deidara cast him a glance and then looked at the clock. Sakura was going to be home soon, the cat and the blonde knew that.

"Well," the blonde started, "Sakura's going to be home soon and I think that she expects her little kitten home too."

They said there goodbyes and the duo left, the cat sitting on the blonde's shoulder. As the blonde boy and gray cat were walking back to the apartment, a bright pink hue stood out amongst the sea of dark hair.

"Yo Pinky!" the blonde called.

Sakura turned around, looking for the person who called her name. The blonde haired boy approached the girl. Deidara smiled and handed the kitten gently to the girl.

"You should call him Zetsu, it fits him better," he said.

Sakura looked at the cat and smiled, "It does."

The cat inwardly smiled as he relaxed in the pinkette's arms. He noticed that the blonde was giving him a weird smirk while Sakura was oblivious to the whole situation. At the apartment, the blonde boy and the pink haired girl parted and went to their respective homes. Inside her apartment, Sakura sat the cat gently on the floor. She walked towards her room, but not without her shadow following her. The cat waited in front of Sakura's door while she changed. Once she opened it, the kitten bounded into the room and jumped onto the bed. Yawning tiredly, the pinkette climbed into bed, the afternoon sun casting across the room. Shadows danced to their own song, and as Sakura rolled onto her stomach, the kitten climbed onto her back. By the time little Zetsu got settled, his master was already asleep.

Next door however, no one was sleeping. Kisame was in Deidara's kitchen searching for food, while the blonde and their friend Sasori watched TV on the couch.

"Un, we have to find a way to make Zetsu normal again," the blonde stated.

"Nah," replied Kisame, "He's a lot less scarier this way."

Sasori couldn't care less either way. He was much like the older Uchiha on this one. There was nothing wrong with the girl, but he didn't see why they were so worked up over it. Itachi didn't like the girl simply because he detested the color pink. Who knows with that one. The red head then joined in on the conversation.

"Why don't we consult the library..."

The other two boys looked at him with their eyes slit.

"Why would we read books when our friend is stuck as a cat for our neighbor?"

"Yes, what are we going to find at the library," Kisame added.

Sasori sighed, "You two are idiots."

With that the red head left and started off towards the library. The shark like boy and the blonde one were left at the apartment. They fell into an easy conversation until a certain silver haired cretin burst through the door.

"Hello, fuckers," Hidan said smiling.

"What are you so happy about old man?"

The Jashinist monk glowered at the two males before him, "I was going to tell you that I found a way to make Zetsu back into a human, but because of the rude fucking welcome, I might not tell you."

That sent the two men on their knees pleading for a little information. Hidan told them everything that Jashin had told him. They were willing to try it, anything that would get their friend from their cherry blossom neighbor. It was an unfair advantage that the cat had, and all the boys wanted it. Over at Itachi's house sat said person in a chair that faced the wall. He had dango and was munching on it happily. The raven haired boy smiled and let his thoughts wander; soon his thoughts had wandered to the pink haired girl that had the liberty of being his friends' neighbor. There wasn't exactly a reason to _not_ like her. She wasn't overbearing like many other females were towards him. Maybe he could give the pink haired girl a chance.

_Maybe I could give her a chance_, the red head thought as he walked into the library. With a sigh, he pushed thoughts of Sakura to the edge of his mind. His friend was stuck as a cat. How was that even possible, the kid had no clue. The red head read line after line, but when his head started spinning, he told himself that he would continue the search tomorrow. He returned to Deidara's apartment to see him painting something.

"Still at it with your stupid art huh?"

The blonde turned, "Un, listen here. My art is fleeting, that's true art," his usual soft voice rising a couple of octaves.

"No. Art is something that needs to be preserved, kept forever."

The argument continued, and the volume of the two got higher and higher. Due to the squabble next door, Sakura woke up. As she sleepily got out of bed, she practically threw the cat off of her bed. The pinkette walked out her door and to the neighboring one, confusing those inside. Both the red head and the blonde answered.

"Yes, how can we help Sakura-chan, un."

The red head observed.

"Could you two stop arguing about art?"

Both thought that the pinkette looked innocent. Her eyes were half way closed and her hair was tousled. She wore a sweater that was too big for her and hung off one shoulder. She was the grown up version of a child.

"Yes, but only after you give us your opinion," the red head spoke.

The pinkette, in her sleepy stupor, thought about it, "Well... Art is something that varied from one person. To me, art is the-" yawn, "representation of the past, present, or future. It can hold memories, as it would in the past. It could be alive with things from the present, or it could be a sign for the futu-" yawn, "-re. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and would like to sleep."

With that, Sakura disappeared from the boys' sight and into her apartment, where her little shadow was waiting. She picked the kitten up.

"I wonder what you would be like if you were a human," she pondered sleepily.

The pinkette climbed back into her bed and left the cat to make itself comfortable. Little did she know that she would find out very soon what the cat was like as a human.

Sakura could tell that it was morning, it was morning before her alarm. She tried to move, but something heavier than a cat was blocking her. The pinkette sat up sleepily and almost screamed. In place of a cat, there was a man, sleeping naked on her bed. She quickly threw her blanket over him and ran out of her apartment. It took a second for Deidara to answer the soft but rapid knocks coming from his door. He opened it to find Sakura standing there, hair more messed up than it was earlier and blushing like crazy.

"Sakura-chan, un, what's wrong," he said as he inwardly panicked.

She was a stuttering mess, but by the time she finished he made out, "...Cat... Sleeping man... naked."

Without consent, Sakura grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled him into her house. She ran to her room with Deidara in tow, only to find that Zetsu was sleeping on the pinkette's bed, only covered by a blanket. The blonde couldn't help but let out a laugh which earned him a glare from the girl standing beside him.

"What so funny," the girl whispered, venom dripping from her words.

"We'll explain it to you in the morning. Tomorrow is Saturday, correct?"

She nodded and sighed. The blonde boy led her out to the couch and sat with her. Sakura turned on the TV, but soon fell asleep. Deidara gently laid her down and covered her up with a blanket. He walked out of her apartment and to his, only to find that he didn't want to leave the girl alone. The blonde grabbed one of his blankets and shut the door as he walked back to the pinkette's apartment. He shut the door and walked back to the living room. After setting his blanket on the chair, the blonde went to check on his, now human, friend. _Still asleep. Good, he's going to hate me in the morning_, the blonde thought. He returned to the living room and took his seat in the chair. Deidara wasn't one to sleep, so he stayed up watching stupid infomercials on the TV.

Sakura woke up in a place that was somewhere other than her bed. She let out a soft groan and sat up to stretch. After she stretched and opened her eyes, she saw her blonde neighbor looking at her with a small smile.

"Deidara-kun, what are you doing here," she asked innocently.

Deidara felt his heart skip a beat, "You wanted me to wait with you last night."

"Where's Zetsu?"

Deidara could have laughed and laughed for days, but he refrained, for the sake of all their neighbors. The blonde simply pulled the pinkette up and led her to her room.

**Oh wow, I didn't think this guy was so forward**, Inner said blushing.

Outer managed to keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks. Deidara opened the door and pointed to Sakura's bed. There lay a man with darker skin on one side of his whole body and two different colors of hair. Sakura noticed that the only clothes he had on were none and he was only covered by the blanket that she covered herself with.

**Ooh, but look at that cutie pie on the bed. I bet that he'd-**, Inner tried to say.

_Nonononononono, stop. Shut up, I do not wish to hear you go on about our neighbors,_ Outer Sakura thought angrily.

"Why is there a man on my bed," Sakura asked, her face tinted a dark pink.

Deidara chuckled, "That's your kitten. That's Zetsu."

The look on Sakura's face was priceless. However, the pinkette didn't think that anything about this was funny, but did nothing to stop the blonde from laughing. Which in turn, woke the man on Sakura's bed up.

He looked at the two with half lidded, golden eyes.

"What are you two doing," he asked.

Sakura started stuttering and Deidara was laughing so hard that he didn't even notice that the man had said something. Then the man realized that he could talk; he looked down at himself and he could've jumped for joy. He was human again!


	4. Chapter 4: Skepticism

Zetsu could've jumped for joy, but he immediately realized that he was naked. Quickly, he took the blanket and wrapped it securely around his waist. The blonde was laughing even harder now. Deidara was laughing so hard that he was on the ground and tears were streaming out of his eyes. Sakura was still red and she pretty much shut down. A knock at the door was the only thing that uprooted the pinkette from her spot. She took off towards the door and it opened as she was just about to open it. A rather angry Hidan and everyone else stood there looking tired.

"Where's the fucking brat," he questioned.

Sakura just squeaked and pointed to her room. They looked at her and then followed the sound of laughter. Sakura followed behind them and as they walked into the room, she hid behind Kisame. Deidara was still on the ground laughing and Zetsu looked confused. After the rest of them pieced it together, they started laughing too. Sakura didn't know what to do, she's never been in this kind of a situation before.

"U-uhm, c-c-can yo-ou he-help me he-here?"

Hidan regained his composure and approached the pinkette, "Well princess, you see. The gray kitten that you had, well. He was actually that fucker over there," Hidan explained, jerking his thumb toward Zetsu.

"Why is he s-s-still h-he-here?"

Hidan merely smirked and shrugged. The pinkette's blush had not faded yet, but instead of staying in this awkward situation, she walked to her kitchen. Sakura pulled out the stuff for tea and she quickly made herself a cup. She sat at her kitchen table, facing the wall instead of the chaos in her room. The girl tuned out everything that was happening and she focused on her tea. It wasn't until she heard Tobi come in that she paid attention to anything else.

"Tobi would like to know where Sakura-chan has gone," she heard his childish tone.

No one saw her slip into the kitchen, so she laid her head on the table. She pretended to be asleep when someone walked into the kitchen. She heard whispers, but she didn't open her eyes.

"Does Tobi need to take Sakura-chan to somewhere softer? Would that make Tobi a good boy?"

There was a whispered reply. Sakura felt herself being picked up and held bridal style in strong arms. She felt the swaying motion of the person, most likely Tobi, carrying her. Tobi carried the girl to the couch where he gently laid her down and covered her up with the blanket. Sakura knew that there was more than one person in there still, so she didn't open her eyes. Eventually, she did fall asleep, leaving her neighbors to sort this out.

"What do we do," Zetsu asked, the blanket still wrapped around his waist.

"Well, we have to get you some clothes, and then we'll wait until Sakura wakes up and you'll tell her what happened," Kisame replied.

Deidara led the half naked male to his apartment. Zetsu had one hand securely holding the blanket around his waist while Deidara tugged him along by the other. The blonde led his friend to his room where he ruffled through all of his clothes. Since Zetsu's weren't here yet, the blonde didn't mind loaning him some. A plaid button up, gray jeans, and a pair of boxers were thrown at the half naked man.

"I'm giving you five minutes to change and then we'll find a way for Sakura to not freak out when she sees you," the blonde said leaving.

The other boy changed quickly, knowing all too well that if he took to long, the blonde would burst in. Once he was done, he folded the blanket neatly and walked out of Deidara's room. Deidara beckoned his friend over. They walked back over to Sakura's house to see that the pinkette had woken up. Her chin length pink hair was tousled and curled slightly in random places. Her green eyes were still sleepy. The sweater covered everything except the shoulder that it fell off of. The pinkette stood up and stretched. The sweater lifted and showed her flat stomach and the compression shorts that she wore to bed the night before. A light dusting of blush coated the boys' cheeks and they watched as the pinkette walked sleepily toward her bathroom.

"Well, ain't she a fucking cutie," Hidan said.

They nodded.

"Tobi thinks that Sakura-chan is really pretty. Tobi is a good boy."

Deidara face palmed.

Sakura returned looking more awake and with dark wash skinny jeans instead of the shorts. The sweater didn't change. She took a seat in a chair that no one sat in.

"Okay, so what's going on," she asked.

The boys looked to each other.

"We should probably take you to see Pein, he can explain it better than any of us," Kakuzu said.

She agreed and went to grab her purse and shoes. While the boys walked ahead, Sakura was absorbed in her thoughts.

"Usually, I'd be sitting on your shoulder," a voice said, pulling her from her daze.

She turned to the boy standing beside her. Zetsu smiled. His golden eyes crinkled, but didn't close. Sakura noted that he had little dimples in each cheek despite the two tones of his skin. His left half was porcelain white while the other was a darker tan. His hair was different too. On the whiter side it was a dark brown that lightened into blonde on the darker side. Sakura gave him a warm smile.

"Yeah, but except now you weigh a gajillion pounds more than you did as a little kitten," she replied.

"Are you implying that I'm fat," he joked.

"Never, but you're not a cat anymore now are you?"

The two shared a moment of laughter. Sakura didn't know why, but she felt at ease with each of her neighbors. She didn't flip out over them like she did over Sasuke when she was a kid. Maybe it was because they were just neighbors. The pinkette fell back into her thoughts, following the guys that led the way. She just didn't notice when they stopped because she ran right into Hidan.

"What the fucking hell was that for, whore?"

Sakura mumbled an apology, and paid more attention this time, as her neighbors led the way. The pinkette smiled softly to herself.

**You know that you wish these guys do dirty, unspeakable things to you**, Inner slyly said. _I'm going to murder you. _**You're not denying it! **_Inner, shut the hell up, there is no or; I will rip out your tongue,_ Outer Sakura thought. Sakura blushed a little at Inner's thoughts. The group had stopped at a door and were talking to a guy with orange hair. Sakura was thinking about something else entirely.

"Piiiinky... Yo!... PINKY!," Deidara yelled.

"Hm," the pinkette replied lazily.

The blonde rolled his eyes, "This is Pain, and his girlfriend Konan."

"Hello," Sakura said, waving shyly at the two standing in the doorway.

They looked her over and waved back. The two moved aside as the boys drug Sakura inside and gently pushed her onto a couch. From there on, Sakura couldn't remember anything specific about what anyone said because everyone was talking at once. Minutes dripped into hours and once the sun set, everyone stopped. The pinkette yawned.

"Well, thank you for explaining everything to me... Come on Zetsu, let's go home," she said, forgetting that the human was no longer a kitten.

Deidara stifled a laugh, "Ah, come on Sakura, I'll walk you home."

The blonde, the pinkette, and the two toned man all walked out of the apartment. It was a short walk back to the trio's housing. Deidara walked Sakura to her door.

"Do you want Zetsu to stay with you," the blonde asked.

The pink haired girl nodded, "Yeah, he lived here before, so he can stay."

Zetsu followed Sakura into the apartment and closed the door behind them. She walked back to her room.

_Do I follow her...,_ he thought. On a whim, he followed the pinkette back to her room. Sakura had walked into her room and changed really quick before the two toned guy followed her. Now she was in the process of getting in bed when the boy stood in the doorway.

"Sakura," he whispered, "Where am I going to sleep?"

The pinkette sat up, she looked around her room and then at the boy. She would feel really bad about making him sleep on the couch, but she couldn't let him sleep in the bed.

** Stop being a baby, let him sleep in the bed,** Inner thought. _I can't do that,_ Outer replied. **Why not? **_Because... _**Just get another blanket for him to sleep with. There, problem solved.**

Sakura sighed, "If you still have the blanket from earlier, then you can get it and sleep on the bed."

Zetsu smiled softly and went to retrieve the giant comforter that he'd folded up earlier. The boy walked back to the pinkette's room only to find that she had already fallen asleep. He laid the blanket on the bed that the girl wasn't laying on and took off his shirt. Zetsu frowned, he didn't have pajamas. Sighing, he walked from Sakura's apartment to Deidara's next door. The blonde opened the door after the boy had knocked.

"Un, what do you need now?"

"... Pajamas..."

The blonde let the boy in and padded back to his room. He ruffled through his clothes and through his drawers and threw a pair of pants at him.

"Okay, you're good, now leave."

The two toned man thanked his friend and returned to Sakura's apartment. He locked the door after he closed it and walked back to Sakura's room. Zetsu could wholeheartedly admit that he liked being a kitten so much better. With a grimace, he changed his pants and wrapped himself in the blanket and flopped down next to the girl. The two toned boy smiled and fell asleep.

Although the pinkette would deny it, she was a hugger while she slept. Zetsu woke up in the morning with a pair of arms wrapped around him. Sakura was no longer covered with only her blanket. Both people were covered with both blankets and their limbs were tangled. The pinkette's grip was stronger than it looked and after ten minutes of trying to escape from it, he gave up and went back to sleep...Or he tried to. Sakura was snoring slightly while gripping Zetsu. There was a knock at the door, and because he couldn't escape, he picked the girl up like one would carry a child.

Sakura instinctively wrapped her legs around his torso and buried her face into the crook of his neck. Zetsu blushed but went to answer the door. Naruto was waiting behind the door to invite Sakura to ramen. He had to talk to her about Hinata. Needless to say, he was more than surprised when Zetsu opened the door. His eyes got wide.

"Who are you," he whisper shouted.

"Zetsu, now I know how this looks, but I was just spending the night here," the two toned booy said. Seeing that it wasn't helping he added, "Sakura and I didn't do anything. I swear. I was just sleeping and I woke up to a death grip. I couldn't escape it and I didn't want to wake her up, so I carried her to the door."

Naruto looked at the boy skeptically. On the inside he was cheering, even if this guy was lying, Sakura had moved on from the Uchiha. On the outside, he kept his skeptical facade up.

"Well, will you tell Sakura to meet me at Ichiraku Ramen at four?"

Zetsu nodded, "As soon as she wakes up, I'll let her know."

With that, the blonde left. His phone vibrated and he looked at it quizzically. _Unknown number._ Naruto answered it.

"Hello?"

"Naruto, it's Sasuke..."

"Oh hey man, what's happening?"

"I need you to check and see if there are any apartments for rent..."

"Are you moving back," the energetic blonde asked. There was a mumbled yes and then a click.


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting An Old Friend

Sasuke sat at his soon to be forgotten kitchen table. There was no denying it, the raven haired boy wanted to see his best friend again. _Maybe even that annoying girl,_ he thought, showing a hint of a smile. Karin walked in and saw Sasuke sitting there.

"Sasuk-"

"No, don't talk. Don't speak."

The red head held her tongue. She didn't mean to cheat, but she did. The raven haired boy stood up with the last of his bags. With that he grimaced and walked out the door. After hours of driving with no stops, he pulled into his best friend's driveway. He killed the engine and stretched before getting out and approaching the door. The blonde answered the door with a hug that a younger brother would give his older one.

"Ah, Sasuke-teme, so glad to see that you're back," he said after letting go.

The raven noted Hinata leaning out of the kitchen to see who was at the door.

"Yeah... How's everyone doing," he asked making is voice sound bored.

His best friend shrugged, "Pretty much the same..."

Sasuke found solace in that, it meant that Sakura was still-

"... Except Sakura. She's doing really good for herself and the hospital. She's got a hellofa punch now too."

With that the raven's expectations crashed into the earth. He'd left after the girl confessed her undying love for the boy. He'd left without anything else except for a simple 'thank you' to her. He was expecting her to still be weak and need his attention. He was satisfied knowing that she would wait for him no matter what. Boy, was he sadly mistaken. Across town, the pinkette still attached to the two tones man and showed no signs of letting up. As much as Zetsu loved being hugged by the pink haired girl, he felt that this was kind of taking advantage of her. He managed to get out of her grip and she immediately woke up.

"Good morning Zetsu," she said stretching.

"Morning,"he replied.

She went to the bathroom, only to return to throw a toothbrush at him. The pinkette returned to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She took the opportunity of the absence of her shadow to get dressed in something besides pajamas. It was a simple green t-shirt with the words 'never is an awfully long time' with a cream cardigan and dark wash skinny jeans. She pulled on her flats as Zetsu knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He came in and sat on the bed, "Some blonde guy named Naruto wants you to meet him for ramen at four."

Sakura looked at the clock, it was 3:45. How could she have slept all day? It was probably all the early mornings and late nights at the hospital. She smiled.

"Thanks, but what are you going to do?"

The boy shrugged, "Deidara will probably kidnap me and take me to get clothes of my own."

The pinkette giggled, "When I get back, I'll set up the guest bedroom for you."

With that the pink haired stood up and grabbed her purse before leaving the house. No sooner did the door close was it opened again with the blonde's voice echoing through the small apartment. Zetsu prayed to Kami that Sakura was faring better, and she was. Well, 'was' indicates past tense and she wasn't doing too hot right now. She showed up at Ichiraku Ramen at four, only to expect the boisterous blonde, but be smashed into the Earth when she saw the raven haired boy that accompanied him. She felt her heart drop; she was sure that after almost seven years of him being away she'd grow to leave it, but his presence ripped old, healed scars wide open. They hadn't noticed her when she opened the little half curtain, and she thought about making her escape when Naruto turned around.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, I'm glad you decided to join us," he said grinning.

The pinkette sighed, but smiled nonetheless, "Yeah, I just got out of bed. Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so late."

"It's okay Sakura-chan, we all know what you were doing last night," the blonde replied, wagging his eyebrows.

Sakura furrowed hers, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy with me, I saw that guy with the two different color skins hold you like a child this morning..."

Still confused, "Naruto, what are you talking about?"

"It was that guy..."

"Zetsu?"

"I think so. He said that you forcefully 'cuddled' him and that you wouldn't let go, so he carried you out with him, like a child might I add, when I knocked on the door this morning."

The blonde had a devilish glint in his eye and the raven looked as stoic as ever. Underneath that, there were so many emotions. A major one being hurt, followed by seething anger. _Sakura had moved on? But that just wasn't like her; then again, things can change in seven years,_ he thought to himself.

Sakura still denied that anything happened between her and Zetsu, hoping that he was enough of a gentleman to not take advantage of her. Naruto eventually gave up, seeing that Sakura really didn't do anything last night, and got to the point of why he wanted to have lunch.

"Sakura-chan, I-I think th-that I'm going to ask Hinata to marry me..."

Sakura almost spit out her green tea.

"What," she choked out.

"D-do you think th-that it's a bad idea?"

She shook her head furiously, "No you two would be adorable together, for real, but are you sure you want to do this?"

The blonde nodded and Sakura's features softened, Naruto was becoming so mature and Sakura couldn't handle it. She lunged at the blonde and grabbed his cheeks.

"You're becoming such a big boy now," she gushed.

After she let go, Naruto paid the bill and the trio parted. Sakura wasn't too far away when she heard her name being called.

"Hey, Sakura!"

The pinkette turned to see the blonde running towards her with the raven following behind.

"Sakura-chan, since I have to get home to Hinata, do you think that you could lead Sasuke to your apartments. Here's the key, just take him there okay?"

He tossed a key to her which she caught with ease and then he took off running. Naruto left the two people standing the the middle of an empty side walk. Awkward tension filled the air as Sakura cleared her throat.

"Well, my apartment is this way."

Sasuke followed silently, emerging himself within this new Sakura. She was much different from the girl that he left here so many years ago. He noted that she grew up, still shorter by more than a a few inches. This Sakura had grew into her body which was curvy and toned in all the right places. He also noted, rather bashfully, that she was no longer an A cup, more like a B going into a C. By the time that he was going to start a conversation, they were at the apartments. Sakura led the way to the raven boy's which was to the left of Hidan and Kakuzu's. She unlocked the door and moved out of the way.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Saskue-san, if you need me, I'm right across the hall to the right," she said quickly before leaving.

Sasuke noticed that she didn't say 'Sasuke-kun' and for some odd reason, it struck a heart string.

"What have I done," he muttered to himself.

Once Sakura was in the safety of her own space, she became flustered.

"What right," she muttered to herself, "Does he have to come back when I was _**just **_starting to get over him. Fucking bastard," she said stalking into the kitchen.

There are a lot of things that can being a person happiness when faced with a tough situation. Sakura was typically very level headed so she didn't usually have to break it out often, but when she did; it put Tsunade to shame. After the eighth bottle of sake, Sakura stopped counting. However, there was a knock at the door and she drunkenly went to answer it. After almost tripping, she made it to the door.

"Who is it," she slurred.

"Zetsu..."

Sakura opened the door and sulked back to the kitchen.

"Guest bedroom's the third door on the right," she said before disappearing into the kitchen.

Zetsu wasn't stupid, and he picked up that Sakura wanted to be left alone. The boy followed the directions with his hands full of bags. He dumped them onto the floor and backtracked to close the door that he'd left open. He didn't bother Sakura so he went to 'his' room to put away his clothes. The rest of his stuff should be arriving soon, and this was just to hold him over until Kisame could kick Sasori out long enough. Once he was done with that, he went to Sakura's room and laid out a glass of water and some migraine medicine and wrote a note saying that he was going to chill with Hidan. So he did. Sakura was unknowingly on her fifteenth bottle of sake and everything was buzzing. She was wasted. All she wanted to do was punch that fucking Uchiha in his face. She could stand being rejected as a kid and that love eventually faded into a friendship kind of love, despite romantic feelings deep down, and that bastard took it all away.

"Fuck you, Uchiha," she whispered at the wall.

As if part of a routine, she got another bottle of sake and took off her pants. Drunkenly she walked back to her room with the bottle and the pants, she discarded the pants into a corner. She sat the bottle down and took off her cardigan, leaving her in a shirt and underwear. The pinkette grabbed random pajama shorts and pulled them on. On her way out of the room, she grabbed the bottle and stumbled back out to the living room where she drank more of her sorrows away. Sakura will never remember how, but she ended up with socks and Converse on and walked out of the house, bottle of sake in hand. She slammed the door with a loud bang and stumbled down the stairs. On her way to the waterfall, she stopped to get more sake. The pinkette walked away with fifteen more bottles and more stares than necessary. Eventually she ran into Ino, who paid no mind that her friend was drunk.

"Sakura, it's late. Shouldn't you be at home?"

"No. I don't recall being a baby with a curfew."

With that, the pinkette continued walking. Drinking didn't take a lot out of her, plus, this was just baby stuff. Sakura could out-drink Tsunade any day. Sasuke heard a door slam, it sounded like Sakura's door so he went to investigate. He was more curious than worried, because Sakura could handle herself. He followed the girl, far enough away to not raise suspicion, but close enough to keep her in his sights. He followed her to the waterfall, where he took a seat of a tree branch. The pinkette was yelling about something but he made out the words: "... damn Uchiha... fuck him...I'm going to punch him in his pretty face..."

He was surprised that Sakura was cursing him, but intrigued because there was a reason for doing so. Drunk and angry, Sakura stripped to her underwear, unaware of the person watching in the tree and dived into the water. She did this a lot after taking swigs of sake. As the sun was coming up and the pinkette was starting to sober up, she sat out to dry herself off. After she was sufficiently dry, she pulled on her shirt and shorts and grabbed the remaining bottle of sake.

"Oh, sake. How you never leave me," she spoke fondly to the bottle.

Sasuke observed from the tree branch. From what he gathered, he was the one that royally pissed Sakura off and that she had a to-die-for body. He blushed at that and made his way back to his apartment. Sasuke frowned at that. His apartment was only a temporary accommodation until his brother made a room for him on the Uchiha estate grounds. Saskue went back to his apartment and fell asleep on the couch.

_Sakura looked at the Uchiha with a look that screamed pure desire. She advanced toward him, putting her hand on his chest and pushing him onto the bed. The pinkette's hair was a curtain around her face until she made her emerald orbs meet his onyx ones. In one swift movement, the pink haired girl was under him. He leaned down and put gentle butterfly kisses along her jaw and down her neck. They both felt the heat, it was radiating off of them. He leaned in close and kissed her on the side of her neck. He heard the girl's breath catch as he placed more ki-_

Saskue sat up. He felt sticky and realized that he was sweating. Red tinted his cheeks as he went to the bathroom to take a shower. His neighbor, Sakura, was the only thing on his mind.


	6. Chapter 6: Falling Unconscious

Sakura sat up in her bed. There was a slight pounding in her head. Instinctively, she looked over at her nightstand and saw the ibuprofen and water. Slightly smiling, she took the medicine and popped it. After downing the rest of the water, she pinkette sleepily got dressed. It was warmer today than it had been so Sakura pulled out a red and white polka dotted shirt. The shirt was made to be a little big and there was a tie in the front. She grabbed a random pair of jeans and the cardigan that she wore yesterday. The pinkette laid the clothes on her bed and walked out of her room and to the bathroom. Sakura turned on the shower and locked the door after she closed it. She stepped into the scalding hot water and washed up.

The cold air bit her skin as the pinkette ran to the back to her room. She made sure the door to her room was locked before she got dressed. She had just snapped the clasps on her bra when a knock on the door startled her. She quickly tugged on the rest of her clothes before running out of her door to answer the front door. Sakura opened the door, towel still in her hair trying to dry it, only to reveal a dark haired Uchiha.

"S-Sasuke-san," she asked curiously.

"Hn... Naruto wanted to know if you could attend dinner with Hinata and him..."

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, that sounds fine."

"Great, Naruto told me to pick you up at seven. He said that there won't be a reason to dress up, so just wear what you have on."

Sakura scratched the back of her neck nervously, revealing a small part of her stomach. Sasuke tried not to notice it.

"Ano... Okay. Well, I'll see you at seven Sasuke."

The raven boy curtly nodded and turned to walk away. He didn't notice that Sakura had lingered at the door a little longer because he was trying to fight down a blush_. Why do I get so nervous around her,_ Sasuke thought. Sakura turned back and closed the door. Zetsu approached from the back room.

"What's going on Sakura-chan," he grumbled.

"Nothing, just catching up with an old friend. What about you?"

He smiled, he had hung out with Dei and everyone else when something had caught his eye. She had blonde hair, pulled up into four ponytails, sporting a little fan in her hand. They had talked all night long. Her name was Temari and he was slowly falling in love. He felt guilty about telling Sakura that, especially after what happened last night, and all that she's done for him.

"Ano, just hanging out with the guys," he replied with a smile.

"That's good," the pinkette said, walking past him with a smile.

The pinkette finished drying her hair and put it up into a messy bun. She added a red bow and slipped her arms through the sleeves of her cardigan. She grabbed her shoes and pulled them on and tugged the purse on her body. Sakura went back to the bathroom and scrubbed her teeth, making sure that bad breath and plaque were banished before walking to the front door.

"Hey Zetsu," she said before leaving, "I'm gonna go out to the store and restock the fridge."

There was a mumbled reply and Sakura giggled before she closed the door with a soft 'click'. Sakura made her way out of the apartments and towards the local supermarket. While she was there, she restocked the dwindling supply of sake that she had hidden away and got food to make actual meals so her temporary roommate wouldn't have to suffer through instant ramen with her. Her cart was pretty full now and it was getting close to two in the afternoon. At the register the cashier looked at her with awe after he saw how many bottles of sake she was purchasing. Sakura stifled a giggle and paid for all the stuff. It wasn't a lot, but her hands were full as she walked home.

The pinkette made it back to the apartment with herself and all the bags intact. When she realized that she couldn't open the door, she kicked it softly. After a couple more kicks, each getting more violent as she waited, Sasuke came out of his apartment. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that the source of all the noise was Sakura. He walked over.

"Having some trouble?"

Sakura blushed and realized that she must have been causing a ruckus, "Y-yeah. I can't get my door open..."

"Here, let me help you..."

Sakura nudged her purse from in front of her body and to the side. Sasuke looked confused.

"Can you reach into my purse and grab my key? It's on a whole ring of them."

Sasuke reached in and pulled out the keys. Sakura told him that it was a plain bronze one with a red string hanging from it. He grabbed it and unlocked the door, twisting the handle and gently pushing the door open. Sakura waddled in and towards the kitchen. Sasuke followed behind her, thinking that the pinkette wasn't as annoying as she had been when she was younger. The raven watched as the pink haired girl unpacked her groceries. He was astonished when he saw her put away twenty or so bottles of sake.

"I didn't know that you were a heavy drinker," Sasuke noted.

"Usually I'm not, but when the situation calls for it," she replied with a small blush coating her cheeks and a simple shrug.

Sasuke knew what she meant. The pink haired girl continued to put up groceries. Sasuke looked around, amazed that her house wasn't dedicated as a place of worship for him. It looked not a lazy kind of messy, but a lived in messy. Books scattered the room, some placed in stacks that Sasuke was sure that the pinkette tripped over. Most of them were medical books that had bookmarks and pages bent. Sakura was busy throwing out old food while Sasuke observed her house.

"Sakura, do you have a bathroom?"

She turned and looked at the raven with furrowed eyebrows, "Doesn't everyone?"

Sasuke let out a small laugh, "Sorry, I meant; may I use your bathroom?"

She nodded, "It's the door at the end of the hallway on the right."

He nodded and lingered as she went back to dissecting her refrigerator before walking down the hallway. He walked past a room, obviously Sakura's room, and marveled at the mess. Sakura's room wasn't messy, per say, but it looked as if Sakura had a lot of rushed mornings. If only he knew. He continued onto the bathroom, only to flush the toilet and wash his hands. As he was coming out of the bathroom, he heard more voices.

"Deidara, get out of the fridge," Sakura scolded.

"Ah, but Sakura-chan, you refilled it!" a voice replied.

There was a scoff.

"Well, listen here you little fucker, if the bitch told you to get out of the fucking fridge, get out of her fucking fridge," a velvety voice yelled.

Sasuke walked back into the kitchen, only to find Sakura dragging a boy away from her fridge. Two others were just watching the sight in amusement. One had silvery hair, but he didn't look old. The other one had two different skin tones, half of him was white and the other was tan. His hair was split too, Sasuke imagined him as a chimera cat. The raven snickered and all eyes were on him.

"Oh, you're fucking Itachi's younger brother," the silver haired man acknowledged, "I'm Hidan, the most bad ass, naturally greatest motherfucker that you'll ever meet."

Sasuke nodded, "Sasuke, hn."

"Zetsu," the human chimera offered.

"And this is Deidara-kun," Sakura said brightly.

They looked at the pinkette, who pointed to Sasuke, "Guys, that's Sasuke-kun."

"Delighted to meet you," Deidara said, walking towards the raven.

Sasuke was going to say something when he made a beeline for the fridge. Sakura caught on and was already standing there when he reached the fridge.

"Nice try, but I'll cook dinner later this week and then you can search my fridge, okay?"

The blonde nodded happily. He dragged Hidan out of the apartment, leaving Sakura, Sasuke, and Zetsu to stare after them.

"Sakura-chan, I have a date tonight," Zetsu gushed.

Sakura grinned, "With who?"

"Her name is Temari and she's a hottie," he winked, "And she's smart."

The pinkette giggled, causing Sasuke to look up from the book of Sakura's that he was reading. Sakura was so proud of her roommate.

"Aw, my wittle Zetsuw wis growing up," Sakura gushed in a baby voice and pinched the human chimera's cheeks.

When he managed to free himself, he rubbed his cheeks and playfully frowned at his pink haired friend.

"Why do you choose to embarrass me when you have a person over," he whined.

The pinkette laughed, "No, that's no embarrassing... Do you want me to embarrass you?"

"NO," both boys yelled.

"I'd rather not hear about it," Sasuke interjected quickly.

Sakura started laughing, and when she tried to stop and she looked at the two boys, she started laughing again, harder than before. She stumbled out of the room laughing. After a few minutes, the pinkette walked back into the living room and sat down with her book. Still slightly giggling, she sat facing away from the two with her book. As she read, Sakura unknowingly moved. Once she was sitting, facing the boys, Sasuke saw the look of concentration on her face. She turned a few more pages and stood up.

"Zetsu, Sasuke, stand up."

They looked at each other, confused, but they stood up anyway. Sakura approached them, her eyes still on the book. She stopped and looked them up and down. The pinkette looked from the book to the boys many times, before lightly pinching a place on their collar bone. Both boys fell to the ground seemingly unconscious. Astonished that it actually worked, she shook her head and got both of them on the couch. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as they woke up. Zetsu yawned and Sasuke just looked annoyed.

"Sakura-chan, did you knock us out," the human chimera asked groggily.

Sakura thought that they were going to punch her, although that's not very polite, so she ran and hid in the kitchen. The boys followed her.

"Sakura," Zetsu called, "I'm not mad, that was actually really cool."

"Really," she asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.

He nodded happily and turned to Sasuke who looked at the pinkette with a tint of annoyance in his eyes. The human chimera nudged him in the ribs and gave him a pointed look.

"Hn."

The pinkette wedged herself out from between the wall and the refrigerator and stumbled into the middle of the kitchen.

"Oomph. Yeah, thanks. I didn't think that it would work. Sorry."

Zestu looked at her, "You didn't think that it would _work_? What are you some kind of ninja?"

Sakura laughed, "No, but I do throw a pretty good punch."

The chimera and the pinkette shared a laugh while Sasuke looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. He remembered the rare times when he, Naruto and the pink haired girl acted like this. A small, fond smile plagued his face, but disappeared as his phone rang. He excused himself and went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Teme? Where are you, it's like, 6:45," his blonde best friend yelled into the phone.

"Ah- really? Sorry, we'll be right there," the raven replied.

After a few more words, they hung up. Sasuke returned to the kitchen to see that Zetsu and Sakura were talking about something random. He tapped the pinkette on the shoulder.

"Hey, ano. It's 6:45..."

With that the pinkette jumped up to do something. Zetsu excused himself to get ready for his date, leaving the Uhicha in the room alone. Sakura returned, only to have donned a cardigan and her purse. They walked to the door, Sakura called something back to Zetsu and slipped her shoes on. Sasuke wouldn't admit it out loud, but he thought that Sakura looked wonderful. They walked to the restaurant where Naurto and Hinata were waiting.

"Yo, Teme and Sakura-chan, over here," their blonde hair yelled.

Sakura smiled and walked towards them, leaving Sasuke behind. Hinata smiled at the pinkette and they fell into an excited conversation. Naruto walked over to Sasuke.

"So, Teme. Is there something that you would like to tell me?"

The raven looked to his best friend, whose eyebrows were wiggling. He shook his head, silently denying that he felt anything towards their pink haired friend. Naruto sighed and mumbled something that the Uchiha didn't catch. The group walked into the place and were immediately led to their table. The blonde pulled his fiancee into his side of the booth, leaving the pinkette and the raven to side beside each other.

Sakura slid in and the booth and looked at the menu. The raven pushed down his nervousness and slid in beside Sakura. They talked and they drank. Eventually everything subsided and it was time to pay the bill. The waiter handed each person their respective check and stood there. She openly ogled Sasuke.

"Ahem, here's my check," She said, handing the check back to the girl.

She took it and everyone else handed their checks to the waitress who stalked off. The four friends stood outside the restaurant for a while before they parted. Sakura looked up at the sky, the stars singing her a chaotic lullaby, as she walked back to her apartment. Sasuke followed beside her, his peripheral vision focused on her.

"Sasuke, would you like to come in," the pinkette asked as she opened her door.

The raven thought about it, but decided to decline.

"No thank you Sakura, I have some business to attend to."

Sakura shrugged and walked in, closing and locking the door behind her. Sasuke stared at the door before walking into his own. As the raven was turning over to go to sleep, his phone rang. He didn't look at the caller ID when he answered it.

"Sasuke-kun~"


	7. Chapter 7: Bento

Sasuke immediately hit 'end' and rolled over. The raven fell asleep without a second thought.

Sakura walked into her room after turning off all the lights. Her phone vibrated, it was a text message. She laughed and replied to Deidara. He wanted to know if she could come over and watch a movie, but she had to decline so she could go to sleep. Kami forbid that she have fun before she goes to work. The pinkette changed into a large t-shirt with sleep shorts. She did one last check around the house, making sure things were closed and the lights were off, before climbing into her bed and falling asleep.

A loud squawking noise woke Sakura from her dreamless sleep. She looked at the clock and shot up. The usual screams of being late filled the air. It was a wonderful thing that she had set out the night before. She quickly changed and ran to the bathroom and scrubbed her teeth before grabbing her shoes and purse and running out the door. She stood in the hallway, still muttering about how late she was going to be, only to put on her shoes and shut the door.

As usual, Sakura ran into the hospital just as she was going to be late. Sakura's day was as it was every other day, although there were more children patients today. The pinkette clocked out at eight thirty and began the slow walk home. She walked through the door, only to be greeted with the sounds of laughing coming from the living room. Sakura snuck past the living room and walked to her room. She quickly changed into a pair of pajama pants and a random t-shirt and walked out to the kitchen.

"Sakura-chan, did you just get home," Deidara asked.

"Yeah, I had to work a late shift. Oh, sorry I didn't cook today, late shift," Sakura replied lamely.

They shared a laugh and the pinkette continued to the fridge. There was nothing there, so she went to the cabinet and pulled out some instant ramen. Three minutes later, she was enjoying ramen and tea, while tuning out the conversations around her. As she was literally scrapping at the bottom, a certain blonde neighbor, snatched the cup and her chopsticks away from her.

"Deidara," Sakura whined.

"No, that was a horrible sound."

Sakura smiled and the clock on the stove caught her attention. She waved to everybody and told them to be quiet, and then she went to bed. The pinkette didn't have time to even become uncomfortable before she passed out.

Naruto was sitting with Hinata on the couch, each of them tangled in the others limbs.

"Hina-chan, what do I do? Sasuke-teme is obviously in love with Sakura-chan," the fox like, blonde haired boy whined.

"I think that you should set them up on a date. I'll invite Sakura-chan to the park and you invite Sasuke-kun. Then, we'll ditch them," she replied simply.

"That's a good plan," he said putting his head in the crook of her neck.

The raven haired Uchiha sat on the couch in his living room; he'd been dodging calls from that bitch Karin all night long. Finally, he just threw his phone at the wall. The screen cracked, but nothing else. He sighed angrily. _I wish Itachi would hurry up_, he thought. Sasuke's phone chimed and he saw that it was from Naruto.

_**Meet me at the park, teme. Tomorrow at five.**_

__Sasuke replied with a confirmation. The raven then stood up, grabbed his keys, and walked out. He strolled all the way to the part of Konoha that was dedicated to the once big family that he used to have. Now it was only him and Itachi. He knocked on the door and his brother answered it.

"Hn, what do you want?"

"I was simply coming to receive an update on my house."

The older brother looked to his younger, "It's almost done, but you do know that you have to find a suitable girlfriend..."

The younger raven nodded, "I already have one in mind."

With that, the younger of the two walked away. Not bothering to look back, he was focused on _how_ he would get the pinkette named Sakura. Sasuke eventually got back to his apartment and draped himself across the couch. The raven laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. He eventually fell asleep, dreaming up ways to make the pink haired girl _his_.

Sakura smashed her alarm clock and got up. She wasn't going to be late today. Inner Sakura smiled evilly.

** We are going to look good today.**

Sakura picked out an outfit that consisted of a casual pink, black, and white skirt with roses. She grabbed a light gray v-neck and slipped on her shoes. The pinkette skipped to the bathroom and tended to her hair and brushed her teeth. She skipped back to the kitchen and made a bowl of cereal. The pinkette finished the bowl quickly and walked back to her room to get a cardigan and her purse. She called to Zetsu and walked out the door. The pink haired girl walked at a more leisurely pace to work, admiring the scenery for once. Besides getting up on time, the pinkette was stuck with a sense of euphoria because she was getting off at three o'clock instead of the normal nine at night.

She walked into work five minutes early and shocked everyone, even her mentor, Tsunade. The pinkette just conitnued to the employee's room to clock in and get ready. As she grabbed the handle to walk, out, someone grabbed it to come in. Before Sakura could even move, she saw stars.

"Hey... Hey are you okay," a voice was swimming in Sakura's head.

She slowly blinked her eyes open and was astonished at who she saw.

"Kisame, what are you doing here?"

He looked down at the pinkette. _Ohmykami, I just hit her in the head! What if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore?_He calmed down and helped her up.

"Deidara wanted to know what you were cooking for dinner tonight- Hey, is that your phone?"

Sakura grabbed her phone off the floor, she looked at the new message. Softly smiling, she typed in a reply of confirmation. The pinkette slipped her phone in her pocket.

"Yeah, I'll cook. What do you guys want?"

"Oh," the shark like boy started, "It's just Dei and Sasori, the rest of us have dates or jobs."

Sakura smiled, "Well, tell him that I'll make steak or something, but I have to get to work."

Her sharky friend nodded and walked back toward the entrance. Sakura completed her rounds, staying with the children a little longer. Now, she was in the lab, doing paperwork. The pinkette's phone vibrated on her desk. Sakura picked it up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sakura-chan, I can't bring you lunch today. I got caught up with some stuff, do you mind if I send Sasuke-teme down there with it," her best friend asked.

"No, that's fine. Or, I can go get some myself," she replied.

"Okay, I feel really bad about it though," her blonde friend deflated, and then inflated, "Bye Sakura-chan. He should be there soon."

Naruto hung up after that, he was glad that Sakura didn't hear the lie in his voice. He walked up to Sasuke's door, ramen in hand. The raven looked at his best friend on the other side of the door. He looked to the bento in the dobe's hands.

"Take this to Sakura at the hospital, her lunch break is in fifteen minutes and I can't take it to her today," Naruto rushed.

He thrust the bento into the raven's hands and practically ran away. Sasuke was confused, but nevertheless, he slipped on his shoes and walked toward the hospital. The raven didn't usually do nice things, that's why when people in the hospital saw him, they gasped. He just had to grit his teeth and bear with it.

"Haruno Sakura, please," he asked the front desk lady.

"She's helping a patient in room 276."

"Thanks," the raven haired boy said.

Sasuke didn't know why, actually he did but he denied it, but as he walked, his heart beat faster. He saw his childhood friend. A person beside her noticed and whispered to her. Sakura immediately turned around and started walking toward the Uchiha. She smiled and gently took the bento from him

"Come on Sasuke, you must be uncomfortable with all these people staring at you."

She grabbed his hand and gently pulled him along, "My lunch was so close to the end of my shift today, if you could just wait fifteen more minutes, we could go eat somewhere else."

Sasuke nodded dumbly as the pinkette led him to her office. She opened the door and turned on the lights. The pinkette moved back behind her desk and tidied up the paperwork. Sakura wrote a few more things down before her phone chimed. Sasuke observed (watched kinda creepily) as she looked at it and smiled. How he wished that he could make her smile like that. He looked away as she turned her head up from her phone.

"Okay, Sasuke, just let me clock out and then we can leave and go eat."

He nodded, fifteen minutes had passed already? Sakura handled everything and walked out of the building with Sasuke beside her. As she recovered from her drunken stupor, she slowly came to realize that she still liked her.

**You know you wished he'd do unspeakably dirty things to you.**

_Shut up, Inner I do not,_ Outer Sakura thought as she choked down a gasp.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura, she was coughing pretty hard.

"Sakura are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fine."

Sasuke looked at her one last time before resuming a stoic expression. His father would think of him as pathetic if he kept shooting emotion out left and right.

Away from all of this sat eight other people in Pein and Konan's apartment.

"We're being reassigned. We can't stay in Konoha anymore," Pein said.

"When are we leaving," Kisame asked sadly.

"Two days from now, and there's a big chance that we'll never come back to Konoha again."

With that, everyone stood up and walked solemnly to their respective living spaces. They knew that when Pein said two days that it meant that they had four hours to pack and get back to his house and then they'd get everything sorted out with bills and such. It didn't help when Itachi went back to his house. The Uchiha sat down and wrote a letter before packing everything he owned into a suitcase. He called his younger brother and left a message.

"Come to the house when you're done doing whatever."

Sakura sat down with Sasuke on a bench not too far from their apartments. They were making small talk. The pinkette opened the box and sighed angrily when she looked at what was inside.


End file.
